Matters of the Heart
by Kristen3
Summary: When Sylvia has a heart attack, Fran and Max examine their relationship. Set sometime in season 3. PG rating is for minor swear words. Complete! Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:I don't own any of these characters, except for the doctors. The story takes place in Season 3.  
  
It was early evening in the Sheffield household. Niles was doing dishes, and Fran was at the table reading a magazine. The phone rang. "Sheffield residence," Niles said, answering it. "Yes, she's right here, I'll get her."  
  
Fran looked up, figuring it was for her. "Who is it?" she asked as he handed her the receiver.  
  
"Your father," Niles answered. "It sounds urgent."   
  
Fran looked puzzled as she put the phone to her ear. "Hi, Pop. What's wrong?" Fran paused. "Oh my God! I'll be right there!" She frantically hung the phone up. "Niles, can you give me a ride to the hospital?"   
  
"Of course, Miss Fine. What's the matter?"   
  
Fran couldn't believe what she was saying, "It's my mother. She was having chest pains, and my father called the ambulance!"   
  
Just then, Maxwell entered. "Niles, how is dinner coming along?" he asked, unaware of the situation. Then he looked at Fran. "Miss Fine, what's the matter?"   
  
Fran was too hysterical to answer, so Niles spoke for her. "That was her father on the phone. Sylvia had to be rushed to the hospital with chest pains."   
  
Max walked over to Fran and tried to comfort her. "Let's all go to the hospital. We can take the limo." Ordinarily, Fran would've been overjoyed at the chance to ride in Max's expensive limousine, but this was no time for that.   
  
After informing Maggie of the situation, and asking her to watch her brother and sister, the three of them set off for Queens General Hospital. The kids had wanted to come along, especially Gracie. She and Fran were extremely close, and Grace wanted to comfort her Nanny. Maxwell told the children to stay home, and he promised to call as soon as they knew anything. On the way to the hospital, they stopped and picked Val up. Not only was Sylvia like a second mother to Val, but Fran wanted her best friend by her side at a time like this.   
  
When they got to the hospital, Fran immediately found her father and ran to him. They hugged. "Have you called Yetta?" Fran asked.   
  
Morty nodded. "I called her at the Home, but she said something about it being bridge night over at the Petrie's, whatever the hell that means." Morty rolled his eyes.   
  
"What do the doctors say?" Fran asked.   
  
"Your mother's in surgery right now," Morty told her.   
  
Maxwell could tell by the look on her face that Fran was upset. "Don't worry, Miss Fine. Your mother's a strong woman. I'm sure it's nothing serious. She's getting the best medical care available," he said reassuringly.   
  
"Oh Mr. Sheffield!" Fran sobbed, throwing her arms around him. Without thinking, Max put his arms around her to comfort her. Though he had never been exactly fond of Sylvia, he knew that she and Fran were close. After all, Sylvia spent more time at the Sheffield's visiting Fran that she did at her own house.   
  
For the next half-hour, the five of them sat in the waiting room, not speaking. They all just stared at each other, afraid to do or say anything. Finally a doctor came in to the room. "I'm Dr. Goldstein, are you waiting for news on Sylvia Fine?" he asked them.   
  
"Yes..." Fran said nervously.   
  
"We just brought her out of surgery. She's stable right now, but we'd like to keep her overnight," the young doctor told her.   
  
"Well that's good news, isn't it Miss Fine?" Maxwell asked, hoping to cheer her up.   
  
"Yeah," Val piped up, "Her doctor is Jewish!" Everyone looked at Val. "What?" she asked. "I just thought I'd point that out."   
  
Morty turned to the doctor. "Can we see her?" he asked.   
  
"She's very tired right now, so it would be better to let her rest," the doctor answered.   
  
"Well, I'd better phone the children. They must be worried sick. I know how fond they are of Sylvia," Maxwell said, as he started to walk towards the hallway. Fran turned and gave him a "Please don't leave me" look. Max walked back over to her. He put his arms around her.   
  
"Oh Fran," he said, almost unaware that he'd called her by her first name. "Everything's going to be fine, no pun intended," he said with a smile. Seeing his smile, Fran forgot for a moment what she was so upset about. Maxwell's words brought her back to Earth. "I don't want Gracie to worry unnecessarily. Her therapist says she doesn't deal well with stress. I'll only be gone a minute, I promise."   
  
Niles broke in. "Sir, if you'd rather stay here with Miss Fine, I could go home and wait with the children." He cast a knowing glance from his employer to Fran.   
  
Maxwell thought for a moment. "Oh…yes, Niles, that might be a good idea," he said, catching on to Niles' meaning. "Oh, and do me a favor and call C.C. Tell her I won't be able to come to the business dinner tonight."   
  
"Well, all right, Sir," Niles replied, "But I don't think she's gotten out of her coffin - I mean bed- yet." Max was used to the verbal sparring between his butler and his business partner.   
  
"Oh Mr. Sheffield," Fran exclaimed, "I don't want you to miss out on an important business meeting because of me!"   
  
"Nonsense! Sylvia is practically a member of the family," Maxwell said. "She certainly spends enough time at our house to qualify," he joked. "And besides, I would much rather be here with you than at some stuffy dinner party with C.C."   
  
After dropping Val off at her parents' house, Niles returned home. The three Sheffield children, Margaret (Maggie), Brighton, and Grace, were sitting on the living room couch, unusually quiet. When Niles came in, they ran to him eagerly.   
  
"How is Sylvia?" Maggie asked.   
  
"Mrs. Fine is out of surgery, and she's stable right now. The doctor wants to keep her overnight for observation." The children were certainly glad to hear that Sylvia was out of immediate danger.   
  
"Where's Dad and Fran?" Brighton asked.   
  
"Miss Fine is still at the hospital. Mr. Sheffield is keeping her company. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go call Miss Babcock and tell her that your father won't be coming to their meeting tonight." With that, Niles went into the kitchen.   
  
The kids exchanged "looks." They had suspected for some time now that there might be something going on between their father and the nanny. "Do you think Dad might actually make a move tonight?" Brighton asked.   
  
Maggie shrugged. "I don't know. He doesn't seem to be in any kind of rush to get into a relationship with anyone, much less Fran."   
  
In the kitchen, Niles picked up the phone and dialed C.C.'s number. Even though Niles didn't like the idea of Sylvia being in the hospital, he couldn't resist having a little fun at C.C's expense. It was sort of a hobby for him. On the other end of the phone, C.C. Babcock picked up. "Hello?" she said.   
  
"Miss Babcock, it's Niles."   
  
"Is this an obscene phone call?"   
  
"You wish! Mr. Sheffield has asked me to call you to say that he can't make your dinner engagement for tonight."   
  
Miffed, C.C. asked, "Well why the hell not?! He'd better have a good excuse for backing out at the last minute!"   
  
"Miss Fine's mother is in the hospital; she was having chest pains. Mr. Sheffield is staying at the hospital to keep her company."   
  
"My God," C.C. breathed, momentarily sorry for her outburst.   
  
Niles grinned. "They're alone in the hospital together. Just the two of them. Miss Fine is in a very vulnerable state right now. Anything could happen." Niles could practically hear all the color run out of C.C. Babcock's face.   
  
Back at the hospital, Morty decided to go home after seeing his wife. He was exhausted after such a stressful night. Fran and Max assured him they would stay just in case anything happened. Fran couldn't believe Maxwell was actually here. She knew he liked her mother, even if he did complain about her always eating their food. But she'd never expected him to give up a business engagement just to keep her company in the hospital. Then again, he was always doing nice things for her, like the time he showed up at her camp reunion when her date with Erik Estrada didn't work out. It was on that night that she had realized she was starting to fall for her boss. With those looks and that accent, it was hard not to. But since then, he had yet to let her know if he felt the same way.   
  
Right now, Fran was asleep on Max's shoulder. He looked down at her. He knew the reason he had yet to make a move on her was because he was still in love with Sara, his late wife. But, somehow, having Fran living in the house had brought a little of that magic back. Maxwell knew that he wasn't ready to admit that he loved Fran, but he couldn't deny that he cared about her. He couldn't quite say what their relationship was. They were more than just boss and employee, but they weren't romantically involved. Maxwell still felt that, if he were to start dating anyone, he would be cheating on his wife. Intellectually, he knew this wasn't the case, but he couldn't help the way he felt.   
  
Looking down at Fran reminded him why they were in the hospital. Sylvia. Maxwell looked up at the ceiling. "God," he breathed. "Please give me a sign that Sylvia's going to be OK. If anything happened to her, I know that Miss Fine would be just devastated." Max paused for a moment. "I wish I knew what to do. I love Sara. Well, I'm sure You know that already. But, lately, I've got to admit that I have….feelings for Miss Fine. I feel like, if I were to act on them, I would be betraying my wife. I just wish You could send me a sign or something."  
  
Just then, there was a loud clap of thunder followed by a bolt of lightening. Max hadn't even realized it had started to rain. "OK, I get the message!" he said with a smile. Fran stirred. "Hi," Maxwell said when she woke up.   
  
"Oh, Mr. Sheffield, I must've fallen asleep!" Fran exclaimed apologetically.   
  
Max laughed. "It's OK. You've had a rough night."   
  
"How is my mother? Have the doctors said anything?" Fran asked.  
  
Maxwell shook his head. "She's asleep for the night. I don't see much point in us staying here any longer. We might as well call a cab and head home."   
  
As they rose to leave, a very drenched and angry-looking C.C. burst in. "C.C., what on Earth are you doing here?" Maxwell asked, shocked.   
  
"I didn't know you were so concerned about my mother," Fran said.   
  
"Oh of course I'm not!" C.C. exclaimed. "I'm just here to make sure you two don't do anything stupid."   
  
Maxwell looked confused, so C.C. explained. "Niles told me the two of you were here all alone!"   
  
"C.C., are you telling me you think that I would take advantage of a situation like that?" Max asked, still shocked at the accusation.   
  
"Well…it had occurred to me." C.C. stammered. "It's not like either one of you is used to being alone with the opposite sex," she continued. "You're both vulnerable. I couldn't stand by while the two of you did something stupid!"   
  
Fran spoke up. "Admit it, Miss Babcock, you showed up here because you thought me and Mr. Sheffield were going to do something tonight, and you were jealous!"   
  
"Oh, Nanny Fine, don't be ridiculous!" C.C. exclaimed. "Why would I be jealous? Just because you spent the night here with Maxwell?" She paused. It suddenly occurred to her how silly that sounded. "Maybe I was a little jealous. But the main reason I came was to bring Maxwell some paperwork to sign for the rights to our new play. Max, you'd better sign right away, or Andrew Lloyd Webber will snatch it away from Sheffield-Babcock Productions."   
  
Max took the papers from C.C. "I told you not to mention his name to me again," he said as he signed. "How the bloody hell was I supposed to know a musical about a bunch of singing cats would be so successful?!"  
  
Just then, a doctor came running towards them. "Which one of you is Miss Fine?" he asked, pointing to Fran and C.C.   
  
"She is," C.C. said, pointing.   
  
"Is something wrong, Doctor?" Fran asked.   
  
The doctor nodded. "Your mother just went into cardiac arrest. We have to send her back into surgery."   
  
Fran looked over at Maxwell. "Oh my God," she breathed.   
  
Max turned to C.C. He handed her back the papers he'd just signed. "C.C., why don't you go home?" he suggested. "Take the afternoon off. It doesn't look like I'll be getting any work done today anyway."   
  
Fran looked at Max. "Are you sure?"   
  
"I like Sylvia," Max replied. "I wouldn't leave her in her hour of need."   
  
Turning to the doctor, Fran asked, "Can I see her?"   
  
"I'm sorry, Miss Fine, but there's no time for that now," the doctor said. "She's already back in the OR." 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Several hours later, Fran and Max sat awaiting word from the doctors. By now it was early morning, and Max had hardly left Fran's side, except to call Niles. The butler had been pretty shocked. He was fond of Sylvia, as were the children. Her constant presence in the house was something they had all grown used to, without anyone's realizing it.   
  
Max could tell Fran was worried; he did his best to comfort her. "I'm sure your mother will be fine, she's getting the very best care money can buy," he said. He tried his best to sound convincing, but the truth was he wasn't so sure. He couldn't help thinking back to that terrible night when he got the phone call from the hospital. He could still hear it: "Your wife has been in a car accident. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Mr. Sheffield, but she didn't make it." That was the worst moment of Maxwell's life. His and his children's world ended that night. For a time, it had seemed like part of him had died as well. He threw himself into his work, neglecting his children. Things might have gone on like that forever, if Fran hadn't shown up on their doorstep trying to sell cosmetics.   
  
Maxwell knew he would do anything if he could prevent Fran from having to experience a loss like that. He was amazed at how strong she was. Her mother was in surgery, hanging on to life, and here she sat, calmly reading a magazine, awaiting news on her condition. 'If I were in her shoes, I would be going crazy,' Max thought. He knew that underneath that tough outer shell, she must be worried sick.   
  
Fran wasn't really reading the magazine. It was a prop, just somewhere to put her hands. She'd been looking at the same article for hours, yet she didn't have the slightest idea what it was about. Instead, she kept thinking back to all the times she'd been angry with her mother. She recalled every fight they had had over the past, ahem, twenty-nine years. How could I have said those things to my own mother, the woman who gave me life, she wondered. Of course, deep down, she understood that she couldn't have known this would happen and that every woman fights with her mother at one time or another. But that didn't make her feel any less guilty. She looked over at Maxwell. 'It's just not fair, she thought. I'm sitting here next to this handsome, available guy while my mother's in some operating room fighting for her life.'  
  
Just then, Maxwell's cell phone rang. "Maxwell Sheffield," he answered, in his businesslike way.   
  
"Daddy, it's Maggie," said the voice on the other end. "Is there any word on Sylvia?"   
  
"No, sweetheart. She's still in surgery."   
  
"How's Fran taking it?" Maggie asked.   
  
Max looked over at her. "Oh pretty well, I guess. Want to talk to her?" "Sure," Maggie replied. "It's Margaret, she wants to talk to you," Max said to Fran, handing her the phone.   
  
Fran took it eagerly, glad to be brought out of her thoughts. "Hi, sweetheart!" she said as brightly as she could. "Are you kids behaving yourselves?" Fran asked.  
  
"We're all worried sick about your mother." Maggie replied bluntly.   
  
"Oh, honey, don't you worry about my mother! She's survived a hysterectomy, 24 hours of labor, and over 30 years of marriage to my father. No little heart attack is going to kill her!" 'Maybe if I say that with enough conviction, it'll actually be true,' she thought.   
  
Maggie could tell Fran wasn't exactly telling the truth. "Do you want us to come down there? I can have Niles drive us," she said.   
  
"Oh, that's so sweet of you," Fran replied. "But you kids don't need to come here. Your father and I have things under control here. We'll call as soon as we hear anything."   
  
"OK, Fran," Maggie said. "I love you."   
  
"I love you too," Fran replied and they hung up.   
  
Just then a doctor came towards them. Fran walked over to him. "Miss Fine, your mother is out of surgery. She's still sedated, but we think she's going to be OK. You should be able to see her soon."   
  
Max joined them. "Thank you very much, Doctor," he said, holding out his hand.   
  
"Don't mention it. I'm just doing my job," the doctor said, shaking it. Then the doctor continued walking.   
  
Turning to Fran, Max said, "Well Miss Fine, you must be very relieved."   
  
"Oh, I am," Fran said, grinning. "I have to go call my father."   
  
Maxwell took his phone out of his suit pocket. "Here, use this," he said.   
  
Quickly Fran dialed her parents' number. "Dad, it's me. The doctor says Ma's out of surgery and she's going to be OK! Why don't you get a cab and come down here?" she suggested. "OK, I'll see you then," she said after a pause. She hung up and gave Maxwell back his phone. "Thanks," she said.   
  
"No problem. Let me call Niles now." He dialed home. "Niles, old man, the doctor just told us Sylvia is going to be fine."   
  
"That's wonderful, sir," Niles replied. "Shall I tell the children?" he asked.   
  
"Of course," Max said, "And why don't you bring them down here?"   
  
"Yes, sir. Shall I pick up Miss Toriello on the way?" Niles asked.   
  
Max covered the receiver and said to Fran, "Niles wants to know if he should bring Val along with the children."   
  
Fran thought for a moment. "Sure, why not? The more the merrier," she said, still obviously glowing. "I'll call her when you're done."   
  
Max nodded his acknowledgment, then returned to Niles. "She says yes."   
  
"All right, sir. I'll be there in half an hour." Maxwell and Niles hung up.   
  
Fran took the phone back to call Val. She still couldn't stop smiling. Max couldn't help thinking he liked seeing her like this. Max handed Fran the phone, and she frantically dialed Val's number.   
  
"Val? It's me Fran. My mother's going to be fine. Niles is on his way over to pick you up," Fran said.   
  
"That's great, Fran!" Val said excitedly. "I'll see you in a few minutes." Fran and Val hung up quickly, and Fran gave Maxwell back his phone.   
  
Max took Fran by the arm and led her over to less-crowded corner of the waiting room. "Look, Miss Fine, I just want to tell you that I'm glad Sylvia is going to be OK. If anything happened to her, I know the children would be devastated. They are quite fond of her, you know," he said.   
  
"Yeah, sure. The children," Fran said with a smile.   
  
Max sighed. "Last night, while you were asleep, I did some thinking. I thought about the night Sara died." Fran opened her mouth to say something. "No, let me finish," Max said. "Ever since that horrible night, it was like there was a cloud over our family. I worked night and day just to forget. I spent more time with C.C. than I did with my own bloody children! Fortunately, you changed all that. I just want to thank you for bringing life back into our house again."  
  
"Oh, Mr. Sheffield, that's about the nicest thing anybody's ever said to me!" Fran exclaimed, on the verge of tears.   
  
"It's just that what happened to Sylvia made me think," Maxwell said. "Life is short. You can't hold your feelings back." At that moment, Max and Fran's eyes met. Slowly they leaned in to kiss each other.   
  
Just as their lips were about to meet, Max's cell phone rang. He answered it.   
  
"Maxwell…" C.C. began, flirtatiously.   
  
Max spoke breathlessly. "Look, C.C., whatever it is, just handle it yourself. I'm a little busy right now!" With that, Max hung up on his business partner. Turning his attention back to Fran, he said, "Now, where was I?"   
  
"I believe you were saying something about not holding your feelings back…" Fran said, anxious to pick up where they'd left off.   
  
"Oh, right," Maxwell chuckled. They resumed their kissing, but yet again, fate intervened.   
  
A doctor approached. "Miss Fine, your mother's awake, and she'd like to see you," he said.   
  
Fran sighed. "I guess we better go in and see her."   
  
Max nodded his agreement. "Thanks," he said, turning to the doctor.   
  
"Don't mention it. You can go right in," the doctor said.   
  
Together, Fran and Max entered Sylvia's room. "Hi, Ma," Fran said. "How are you?"   
  
Sylvia shrugged. "Eh, I could go for a piece of cake," she replied.   
  
Max chuckled. "Well, it's nice to see you're back to your old self!"   
  
Just at that moment, Niles arrived along with Val and the kids. "Can we come in?" Maggie asked.   
  
"Oh, sure, kids," Fran said, hugging each of them as they entered the room.   
  
Sylvia looked at the Sheffields and said, "You came all the way from Manhattan just to see me?!"   
  
Max nodded. "Of course we did, Sylvia! You're like family."   
  
Sylvia smiled. "You're like a son to me, too." Then she motioned for him to come closer. He leaned down so he could hear her. "Now would you marry my daughter and make it official already?!" Max chuckled nervously. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 The next day, the doctors told Fran and Morty that Sylvia was free to leave the hospital. Unfortunately, they also recommended that she go on a diet. They felt that her eating habits may have contributed to what had happened. "I could've bloody well told them that!" Max whispered in Fran's ear with a chuckle.  
  
That evening, Fran was in the kitchen having a cup of tea when Maxwell walked in. "Hi, Mr. Sheffield," Fran said. "You know, I really want to thank you for keeping me company in the hospital."  
  
Max smiled. "Don't mention it, Miss Fine," he said. He hesitated, then continued, "Oh, and about what happened yesterday at the hospital.." He looked at the floor awkwardly. He'd have to choose his words carefully. He wanted to make sure Fran didn't make any more of that kiss than it was. At the same time, the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her feelings. "I-I really do care for you," he said. "But I don't want either of us to make any major decisions about our relationship when we're still so emotional from the events of the past few days."  
  
"So what does this mean?" Fran asked.  
  
"I really value our professional relationship, and I wouldn't want us to rush into anything that might jeopardize that."  
  
Fran nodded tentatively. She could tell that he was trying to let her down gently. Even so, she couldn't help thinking that this was an incredibly sweet and classy thing to do. Somehow, this made her love him even more. "I understand," she said as she reached out to hug him. "You want us to be just friends for now?"  
  
"Yes," Maxwell said. "I just wouldn't want to hurt you," Maxwell said as he hugged her. "I'm afraid I'll say something, and then it back later." 


End file.
